Crush On You
by ReturntoZero1
Summary: Aubrey confesses to the person she loves, expecting a swift rejection. Who is the person she loves?


Title: Crush On You  
>Summary: Aubrey confesses to the person she loves, expecting a swift rejection. Who is the person she loves?<p>

Aubrey felt her chest tighten as she stared at the brunette's back and waited for a response.

Time seemed to stop in their small space, but everyone around her blurred and spun, whizzing by her as she stayed completely still. Aubrey felt like her nerves were going crazy, the fight or flight instinct taking over and pushing and pulling her. She wanted to run away, run as fast as her legs would carry her, but she also wanted to stay completely still like a statue and hope that somehow this would all go away.

This was a HUGE mistake.

Miss Aubrey could already feel the rejection coming, her pride crumbling and she wished she had never even said anything. Somehow she found the courage to move calmly, but she was sure her hands were shaking violently. Shifting her weight from one hip to another, she didn't run, she couldn't run away.

The heavy silence was so thick, Aubrey was choking on the heavy atmosphere and silent to the oh so obvious answer.

Her friend had encouraged her to say something, to quickly confess her deeply hidden love and be proactive about attaining the love of her life(so far). The red head had found confidence in brown eyes, those same brown eyes shone with encouragement, pushing her to expose her true colors.

_You aren't the snobby rich girl, you're just a lonely girl looking for love._

Aubrey had to bite back tears when her best friend voiced the truth, her high school life flashing before her eyed, bitter feelings rising up in her throat, making her want to gag in disgust.

Ugly Duckling.

That's what they called her. Back in those horrid white washed walls they picked on her, teasing her for being ugly in a rich school. Her hair was too curly, thick brown glasses took up a majority of her face and having braces only made the teasing escalate. Everyone thought she was ugly, and they shunned her from being in the yearbook photos.

Aubrey had tried everything, she kept up with the latest fashions and followed all the popular shows without fail, but they never wanted her. At one point they let her into the group, they accepted her.

But they harassed her even more, exploiting her flawless grades and her smarts, she would do all the work and they would still call her a hideous monster.

Every day she cried, for four years she endured the horrible scoffs and slander from her fellow peers.

She stayed silent the whole time.

The only reason she survived was because she had him. Angel was a classmate of hers, and he constantly protected her from the harsh comments and shielded her from the attacks of the students.

He had been attacked for being with her.

Yet somehow it rolled right off his back, they could not hurt him. Aubrey had always admired him, wanted to be just as strong as he was. Unfortunately Aubrey had horrible self-esteem, constantly questioning why Angel even considered hanging out with her. She felt like she couldn't trust him, he was going to hurt her too, just like they all did.

Finally the question slipped from her mouth, she was dying to know, it was a mistake, "You're such a beautiful girl Aubrey, it's such a shame no one else can see it." He sent a warm smile in her direction, his brown eyes melting her heart completely.

Angel had continued, "You're beautiful on the inside, and you have so much ahead of you...I know you're feeling really sad but I hurt when you hurt yourself," Aubrey rubbed her wrists lightly, chest weighing down with guilt, "Please don't do this anymore. You're better than them. If they call you ugly duckling, then prove to them that you are going to be a beautiful swan, you can't let them win."

Aubrey felt her chest collapse and her tears fell in rivers, enveloped in Angel's strong embrace she felt beautiful, she felt like she was special.

She felt like she was loved.

Angel had transferred during junior year, but they never lost touch, calling and emailing each other daily. Angel had still called her beautiful everyday, reminding her that this was only a part of her long life.

Aubrey soon began strutting the halls as if she were the beauty queen of the world.

She was able to learn from Angel and see herself as not a ugly stupid girl, but as the Ugly Duckling working to become that beautiful swan.

After high school Aubrey attended college to become a professional dancer, but now she looked different. Her braces were removed, leaving behind a beautiful and perfect white smile. Aubrey finally found a style that worked for her, and she was determined to make her hair beautiful by conditioning it daily, creating a new ritual for herself. Her acne clear as soon as her hormones calmed down, but even with the occasional zit she was still confident. She ditched her glasses for contacts, but Angel always whined about how he thought she looked cuter with glasses.

Life had finally turned for the better, and now all her high school tormentors kissed the ground she walked on and begged for forgiveness.

Aubrey didn't spare any mercy on these people.

Yet with the new found confidence, she seemed to forget about the Latino boy that had called her beautiful, lost contact with one of her only true friends.

Aubrey swore she had finally achieved her ultimate desire, she was loved by all.

Everyday passed and finally Aubrey noticed that not everyone loved her, especially a certain annoying woman named Emilia.  
>She hated Emilia.<p>

Somehow Emilia was just rude and vociferous, creating a big fuss over something so small. It was pointless getting into a fight with the Latina, she would instantly blow up and cause a huge scene. Aubrey would roll her eyes and the brunette would somehow register that as the instigation of a fight.

As time passed, Aubrey found herself looking for the fiery dancer, wanting to tease her and rouse an outburst from the other woman. Aubrey began to grow fond of the constant banters between them, expecting a friendly battle that would always leave a smile on her face. Sometimes Emilia was just so funny when she was all riled up, pouting and her face glowing a rosy red.

Aubrey had begun to hang out with Emilia more often, still keeping her playful teasing yet growing closer to the Latina with every passing day. Even Emilia started smiling too, even though she would still get mad, she would often leave with a huge silly grin on her face.

"...so anyways I saw this guy at a restaurant and he was H-O-T, hot! I wanna go eat there today so that maybe I can catch another glimpse of him!" Emilia continued to ramble on endlessly and Aubrey bit her lip.

As they entered the calm and cool restaurant Emilia squealed and giggled like a school girl. Aubrey's gaze shifted and landed on a handsome young man with tan skin, the white suit making him stand out even more. His perfect smile and his lovely brown eyes had every girl in the room swooning.

Aubrey could only glare as he approached their table with a large smile plastered on his face.

Dreading the worst the red head sighed, Emilia was finally going to get her wish.

"Hey...I don't want to sound lame but...do I know you?"

Aubrey waited for Emilia to sputter nonsense and follow this fool to the dance floor. She waited, and waited yet nothing came. Somehow the atmosphere changed, she could feel people looking at her, staring and waiting for her to move. Aubrey kept still, she didn't want to look like a fool in front of Emilia.

Finally it dawned on her, he wasn't talking to Emilia.

She slowly turned her head towards the gorgeous man, his eyes searching her face, brown eyes lighting up as he seemed to find his answer. Miss Aubrey quickly glanced back at Emilia, she could feel her heated glare burning a hole through her head.

"My gosh you look so different! My beautiful Miss Aubrey!" the handsome man had hugged her tightly, squeezing her and practically crying as if she was a long lost friend.

"Let go of me.."she growled, annoyed by this man's existence. He pouted, "Aubrey that's no way to treat your old friend. I though you would remember poor little Angel when you became a swan..."

Aubrey turned and removed his white fedora, exposing Angel's face and instantly recognizing the now mature and gorgeous Hispanic. "Angel! Oh my..it's been so long!" she couldn't hold back the tears and embraced Angel once again, laughing as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Well I guess I'll leave you two to catch up..."Emilia quietly stated. Quickly walking out of the store, Aubrey couldn't stop her from leaving, guilt quickly weighing down her euphoric mood. Angel caught onto Aubrey's sudden mood change and they began to talk about what had happened and how quickly life was changing.

Aubrey was stunned at Angel's speculations and almost wanted to laugh at his ridiculous conclusion.

So she did.

She straight out laughed in his face, tears springing to her eyes and hands flying to clutch at her sides, it was so funny that it hurt. Her laughter began to fade with her short breaths, wiping away the hanging tears that blurred her vision. Angel stayed completely silent, his face pulled into a serious look. Aubrey's giggles halted once her eyes locked with his, he was dead serious.

Aubrey dismissed the ideas with the wave of her hand, it was so off that they might as well have been shooting for Mars.

Aubrey wasn't in love with Emilia.

Angel gave a last unsure look before moving onto other topics, yet Aubrey had trouble focusing on his words, instead she heard his smooth voice lull her eyes shut and cause her world to fade to darkness.

Aubrey was in love with Angel.

It was simple, he had always thought she was beautiful, had it not been for him she probably wouldn't have been alive...

Yet Angel let her down lightly, explaining that he loved her like a sister, that she was perfect...for someone else. Aubrey had felt the sting of rejection bloom in her heart, but she never cried. She was actually...not hurting at all. Somehow Angel still loved her, and Aubrey couldn't understand why this rejection had not made her a sobbing mess like all the girls on the TV shows.

Angel smiled at her, eyes shining with knowledge, urging her to reevaluate her feelings.

Aubrey spent hours thinking, rethinking and groaning in frustration. After pacing in her room, rolling around on her bed, perching still by the window and staring blankly at the wall, she finally collapsed and laid down on her back, not on her bed but the floor, staring at the ceiling.

Her eyes landed on her No Doubt and Gwen Stefani posters, they were a constant reminder of her favorite Brazilian dancer.

Aubrey had always cherished those posters, hanging them above her head so that when she would sleep, she would knock out with a smile. Soon she began to feel the pieces of her heart finally convey something she could understand. Sitting up quickly she glanced at the many stuffed animals that adorned her bed, all of them Emilia had won for her at various carnivals, and she quickly whipped her head to make sure that the tiara Emilia had begrudgingly got her was still on display. Aubrey could feel her heart race and she shuffled through her things, linking a wonderful memory of herself and Emilia doing something together.

Aubrey began to cry.

Angel was right, she did love Emilia. Somehow she had fallen hard, she didn't even notice when she stopped teasing and started adoring the fiery woman. Aubrey could feel the weight press down on her shoulders, already crushing her to lay on the ground.

She could never tell Emilia.

Aubrey would ruin everything if she said a word about her love, Emilia was clearly straight, and if anything she was better off with another guy. Aubrey held a hand to her chest resting just above her heart, this would be her secret to keep.

Aubrey plopped herself on her bed and reevaluated her relationship with Emilia, trying to prove to herself that there was no way of Emilia ever loving her back. Somehow she would be able to stop these feelings, kill them soundlessly and continue living on without having to deal with this.

Aubrey cried, she couldn't bear the thought of Emilia leaving her all alone, to call her ugly and find out that she wasn't as perfect as she always seemed to be.

Aubrey smiled bitterly, she would leave first.

As the weeks passed, the red head avoided the fighter like the plague, always making up some excuse to why she couldn't go or how busy she was with school.

It was all bullshit.

Emilia had caught on quick but said nothing, instead allowing Miss Aubrey to slip further and further away, making her fall out of her life and turned away from the loss.

Aubrey was even more depressed than ever, sulking constantly at Angel's hang out spots and infuriating the Latino man. "Aubs, why don't you just ask her out?" Aubrey buried her face into her arms, "I can't...she'll hate me." Angel sighed, pulling a seat next to Aubrey and wrapping an arm around her, "Aubs...look at me," she hesitantly looked up, her light brown eyes watering with unshed tears, "You have to try. This isn't something that's just going to go away. You need to confront it. If you love her, than show her how much you care and who knows, maybe she'll like you too."

Aubrey tried to smile, but Angel frowned, he wasn't going to be squelched so easily. Aubrey finally gave up, "Fine...I'll try, but you're going to buy all my ice cream and stay up late with me listening to me cry."

Angel finally beamed, teasing with a light note in his voice, "I'll even go and rock you to sleep."

Aubrey began preparing for the horrid day, she had sent out a single curt text stating that Emilia needed to meet her at the yacht at 3pm two days from now. Somehow the 2 days expired, leaving her with only a few hours before heart-break.

Aubrey had come fabulous as usual, but Emilia came with a serious expression, no hint of happiness on her face. Soon Aubrey just wanted to cancel the whole thing, just tell Emilia some lie that would ultimately just end up being thought of an nothing.

Aubrey chatted happily, trying to feign a totally care-free attitude and hide from having to confess. Emilia did not change, she stared with calculating eyes, analyzing every sharp breath and catching every nervous glance.

"Dude if you gotta say something just spill it." Emilia hastily blurted.

Aubrey felt her heart drop and her throat tighten. "Well...I...I..." Aubrey could feel her mouth drying up and she stumbled through her words, her face flushing an embarrassing crimson. Emilia was not amused. Instead she knocked over the coffee table as she stood up, "If you have nothing to say then leave me alone."

Emilia stormed off, Aubrey didn't want it to end this way.

"Emilia," Aubrey reached out and caught Emilia's shoulder, "I love you, would you please be my girlfriend?"

Aubrey shifted her weight back and forth from hip to hip, biting her lip so that she could think about anything else but the girl in front of her.

Emilia stopped dead in her tracks and stiffened, Aubrey pulled her hand back quickly. The red head couldn't stop her shaking hand, everything was just too much pressure and closing in on her chest. Aubrey was ready for the rejection, waiting for the blow to hit her heart and break it. Emilia simply stood still and Aubrey wanted to groan, Emilia probably didn't even want to turn to face her.

"I know."Emilia whispered, turning to face her long time frienemy.

Aubrey frowned, there was no way the Emilia would have known, "Angel told me...but I didn't believe him. That's why I was so mad, I thought he was lying to me." Aubrey wanted to punch Angel in the face. Aubrey had trusted Angel! She gritted her teeth in anger and balled her hand into a fist, she would kill Angel.

Emilia began to blush, "I've never been with a girl but...I'll give it a shot."

Aubrey stared at Emilia as if she grew another head.

"You want to..." Aubrey could barely even speak, soon Emilia hugged her tightly smiling and laughing.

"Yeah. Even if this doesn't work out I'll still always love you. In a friendship kinda way...and Aubrey?" Aubrey swore she was dreaming, that she would wake up to her world and she would still be unhappy.

"Hey, listen, I want to love you. I really do. But you have to trust me." Emilia locked eyes with her, brown eyes pleading for just a chance. Aubrey gave a small pout, "I do silly. But I'm just scared..."

Emilia sighed, "I'm scared too...but we're going to make it through together."

The new couple finally linked hands and smiled at the setting sun, the shades of red and oranges staining the sky. Aubrey couldn't help but ignore the beautiful sunset and instead focus on her beautiful girlfriend, whose smile was the most beautiful thing in the world. Aubrey smiled, finally content with life, and not minding the sway of the boat or how loud Bodie was being when he invaded the yacht.  
>Aubrey leaned on Emilia, "Hey Emmi, Angel told you everything?" Emilia giggled, "Well, it started out as a text saying that he knew someone who had a crush on me." Aubrey laughed and smiled, Angel would do something like that.<p>

Emilia gave her a quick peck on the lips before running off to explore the extravagant boat. Aubrey pulled out her phone, nimbly scrolling through her contacts and finding his name. She typed up her little secret and sent the message, "Hey Oblio, I think I know someone who has a crush on you."


End file.
